Factors associated with unfavourable treatment outcomes among tuberculosis patients at health facilities of Maseru, Lesotho

Abstract

Tuberculosis (TB) treatment success rates (TSR) remain low in Lesotho. The country achieved TSR of 76% in 2020, which is far below the World Health Organization’s 95% target set for 2030. This study determined the level of treatment success and factors associated with unfavourable treatment outcomes. This descriptive cross-sectional study used patient records to perform descriptive and logistic regression analyses. Sixty-one per cent of the 336 TB patients were male. Two hundred and eighty-nine had favourable outcomes, of which 10% died in the course of treatment. Patients ≤ 44 years old, and those with supported treatment, had lower odds of unfavourable treatment outcomes, respectively, adjusted odds ration [aOR] = 0.39 (95% CI: 0.19–0.78) and aOR = 0.22 (95% CI: 0.08–0.62), p 0.05. Contribution: The death of patients while on TB treatment needs to be addressed, including heightened advocacy for supported treatment.

Keywords

• tuberculosis
• treatment success rate
• maseru
• unsuccessful tb treatment
• mycobacterium tuberculosis.